Much food, many local ingredients, great bicycling, many glazed tile roofs,
azalea bushes and pansies, very green,
volcanic hot springs to bathe in, yukata (informal kimono) to wear,
and futons to sleep on every night.
Very relaxing.

During our trip, 100 Yen = US$1.11.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of our trip was the almost complete absence of cigarette smoking.
The sidewalks of Tokyo are liberally covered with No Smoking signs (apparently impregnated into the sidewalks),
and we only saw 2-3 people smoking during our 1.5 days in Tokyo.

The Japanese people we encountered were unfailingly polite and helpful,
with nodding/bowing and "Hi!" (Yes!) in abundance.
We saw a lot of school children, and they were always wearing uniforms and
were often riding bicycles (with no helmets, of course).
There appeared to be a single (national?) uniform for boys, and another for girls.
When we passed the children in the streets they ignored us,
but when they passed in buses or we passed them at sitting inside a school building, they waved madly to capture our attention
(presumably they noticed Ben's Canon digital SLR).

Ben and Lisa are barely 5'10" tall, but in Japan we felt like giants!

In the countryside -- and even in many of the smaller cities --
it seemed like rice paddies occupied every flat bit of land.
We saw people working in the paddies, and they almost always appeared to be past 60 years of age -- as did most
of the staff at the Ryokan (traditional Japanese inn) we stayed in.
Which made us wonder: who will do this work in the next generation?

In the less urban areas the buildings were almost always roofed with black glazed tiles,
and in front of every home and business there was a garden of some size, most often with azalea bushes,
poppies, and various green shrubs -- all very meticulously pruned and cared for.

Day

BenMiles

Hours

MPH

LisaMiles

Wed

32.4

2.7

12.0

32.4

Thu

38.5

3.2

12.0

38.5

Fri

37.7

3.1

12.3

33.4

Sat

29.0

2.4

11.9

29.0

Sun

20.7

1.6

12.9

20.7

Mon

42.7

3.3

12.8

22.7

Tue

16.4

1.2

13.7

6.4

217.4

17.5

12.4

183.1

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